The emotional capstone in the film Under
the Tuscan Sun is a scene where writer and protagonist Frances Mayes is
finally acknowledged and possibly welcomed with a glance, a nod, and a slight
tip of her elderly neighbor’s hat. Despite her many strenuous efforts
to achieve this acknowledgement, it occurred only after
she stopped obsessing, worrying and agitating. With that old man’s
tip of the hat, the whole world synchronizes, and settles into its natural
wonderfulness.

Thanksgiving reminds us to be grateful for gifts already
received, generally unwrapped, often intangible, usually simple and at times
wondrous. The existence of those we have loved, love today and will love
tomorrow is always at the top of the list.

This year, beyond the good gifts in our lives, there
is also room for a political Thanksgiving as well. For those who crave limited
government and human liberty, it may seem that our current American era
of war socialism, nationalistic fervor against evil enemies, and the brave
new State led by a corrupt plutocracy and standing armies leaves little
to celebrate. But when you gather with family and friends this Thanksgiving,
remember there are at least ten political gifts we have been given in 2005.

1) Dick Cheney is falling down, and George W. Bush
is racing him to the bottom. Most Americans believe that these two lied
the country and the Congress into war. They didn’t do it by themselves,
but it’s good to know they are finally getting some of the credit.

2) That grand old bird of defense, Grandpa Rumsfeld,
is plumb out of fifty-year-old swooning women, and he no longer finds many
men, in uniform or out, who admire his substance or his style. The only
thing steely about old Don these days is his spectacles. And no, I’m
not talking about Iraq – I mean his eyeglasses. And that’s exactly
how it ought to be.

3) In 2005, everyone knows what "neoconservative"
means. The neoconservative perspective (liberal nationalistic socialism
at home, a militaristic nation-shaping program abroad, starting and probably
ending in the Middle East) has taken over much of the Republican Party and
a good part of the Democratic Party. Most people know this, too. They also
know that neoconservatism is simultaneously elitist and devoid of new ideas.
Most people also recognize that the main dish served by neoconservatives
is leftover anti-communism, smothered in a red panic of Islamo-fascism.
If you go to the store, you won’t find Islamo-fascism, bottled or
canned. You won’t find it fresh or frozen. It was invented to flavor
something Americans wouldn’t eat otherwise, and in fact is not produced
either locally or abroad. Go figure!

4) This Thanksgiving season, the Congressional flock
has raised their fuzzy little heads, and they are beginning to make soft
noises. At least for Iraq and this administration’s financial and
foreign policy idiocy, the silence of the lambs seems to be over. Yes, it’s
mostly due to the bloody congressional slaughters forecasted for 2006 and
2008. But remember, our democracy has only three fundamentals: Stay in office,
avoid indictments, and find out where the people are going so you can get
up in front of the crowd. God bless America!

5) Patrick Fitzgerald is still alive and working. He
is even still working criminal cases from his old job, like the one relating
to Richard Perle’s good friend, Conrad Black. The Congress and the
Defense Department IG are both examining Richard Perle’s other good
friend, Doug Feith. Even the Congress is finally moving on the Part II investigation
on how intelligence (and other stuff the administration heard on the global
grapevine) was "politicized." You know, fixing facts around policy.

6) Speaking of Richard Perle, we’ve heard little
from him recently! That in itself is a blessing worthy of the top ten. He’s
not writing, he’s not speaking, he’s not making soufflés
for his friends. Instead of the toast of the town, Perle seems to be just
toast.

7) The Iraqis are on to us, as are the Afghans, the
Iranians, the Egyptians, Syrians, and the Saudis. Karen Hughes, Condi Rice,
hand-picked puppets Ahmad Chalabi and Hamid Karzai, and a host of sous-puppets
in Iraq and Afghanistan have all worked hard to sell an American foreign
policy buffet that is overpriced and awful, and unfortunately kills and
maims many of those who partake. These countries have also recently discovered
that the Chinese and unborn future Americans are sharing funding responsibility
for the whole shebang. Oops, I guess that is something for them to be thankful
for, and not us.

8) Freedom is irreversible. Big government has huge
advantages of power and force. But the trend of history has been the liberation
of the individual, and the celebration of freedom of movement, markets,
and minds. The state fundamentally resists this trend, and the 20th century
fantastically demonstrated how states would and could slaughter individuals,
and bind their souls. Yet in every case of state-led mass murder and indoctrination,
the state could not kill the human spirit, destroy every challenger, arrest
every free thinker, and lock up every child who saw that the emperor had
no clothes.

9) And the corollary to number 8 is that hot air dissipates
rapidly! Specifically, I am referring to the heated and ever expanding attacks
by the administration on those who criticize it for putting American soldiers
in harms way through mendacity, greed and hubris once understood to be the
realm of crazy kings and Caesars. But more and more Americans, and more
quickly than ever before, recognize the hot air for what it is.

10) USA Today just ran had an editorial piece entitled,
"Is Our Faith in Government Dying?" The question was rhetorical.
It could not be otherwise in America these days, and for this we should
again be grateful.

These are just ten blessings in the political sphere,
and there are many, many more. They didn’t all come about just because
those who value liberty wanted them to, and worked hard. They didn’t
come about solely because LewRockwell.com and Antiwar.com are great websites.

The political winds are changing in part because good
always overcomes the baneful, the malignant, and the murderous. Sometimes
we only know we are winning because someone glances up, catches our eye,
and tips their hat in mutual recognition. Anti-state, antiwar and pro-market
Americans, meet your neighbors! And enjoy Thanksgiving 2005!

Get
Alex Jones and Paul Joseph Watson's books, ALL Alex's documentary films, films
by other authors, audio interviews and special reports. Sign up at Prison
Planet.tv - CLICK
HERE.